Oxford Street American candy store numbers drop amid council crackdown

The number of American candy stores on Oxford Street has dropped from 29 to 21 following a crackdown by Westminster City Council, according to a new Westminster’s overview and scrutiny committee report. Earlier this year, Westminster City Council further campaigned against US-style candy and souvenir stores by appealing directly to free and long leaseholders to oust any tawdry tenants from their buildings. Since then the London borough has been working with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the National Crime Agency to investigate the shops and to pursue £9m in allegedly unpaid business rates. The recent report said: “We have ramped up the pressure on Candy stores, souvenir and vape shops, to make clear the status quo is not acceptable. Following multiple attempts to engage with each freeholder and long leaseholder, requesting that they do all they can to stop letting agents leasing empty properties to candy stores or souvenir shops, we then carried out a transparency release of those who failed to engage positively with the council. “This exercise triggered a number of conversations with freeholders and long leaseholders on the specific actions that could help to remove candy stores in their particular contractual situations, and those conversations are ongoing, with some parties even inviting trading standards action to enable them to begin legal action against their tenants.” Council leader Adam Hug said the reduced number of stores was proof that “consistent action against unscrupulous traders is making life sour for the sweet shop racket”. Westminster’s overview and scrutiny committee also stated that it will continue to discuss the possible ways to apply more pressure on freeholders and long leaseholders who have the candy stores as tenants. Cllr Hug said: “We have energetically pursued unscrupulous traders who sell unsafe or fake goods, impounding more than £1m of items in 18 months. Enforcement action, schemes to encourage pop-up entrepreneurs and our planned £90m programme to overhaul Oxford Street will, I hope, continue to reduce the numbers of candy stores.”